Public debate begins in Senate

The constitutional bill "for an autonomous Corsica within the Republic" will be debated in public session in the Senate starting on October 26. The bill was already adopted in first reading by the National Assembly at the end of June, but it is unusual for the upper house to have the first examination of constitutional texts.

Senate divided on constitutional text

The bill arrives in a chamber of territories particularly divided, including within the senatorial majority, the alliance of Republicans and centrists; some estimate that the proposed amendments present risks of breaking the unity and indivisibility of the French Republic.

Minister reassures officials

Françoise Gatel, minister for territorial planning and decentralization, was audited by the committee on laws on October 13. She tried to reassure elected officials particularly skeptical of the bill. "This text speaks of an autonomous Corsica within the Republic, that is to say in the French Constitution, under the authority of national sovereignty and within the indivisible framework of the Republic," she defended.

New constitutional article proposed

The bill inserts a new article into the Constitution, which "provides for the recognition of an autonomous status for Corsica within the Republic, taking into account its own interests, linked to its Mediterranean insularity, its historical, linguistic, and cultural community, and having developed a special link to its land." In short: the text opens the way for the adaptation of laws and regulations to local specificities, but the scope and modalities of the exercise of this autonomy are referred to an organic law, which has not yet been presented.

Origins in 2022 violence

The origin of this text goes back to the violence that shook the island of Beauty in March 2022, after the murder of Yvan Colonna, a Corsican independence activist and criminal, mortally attacked in his prison in Arles. The discussions between the executive and Corsican officials led to the Beauvau agreements, the starting point of this autonomy project.

Council of State raises concerns

In an opinion rendered on July 17, 2025, the Council of State advised the executive to withdraw several provisions from the text, notably the notion of "community" of Corsica, and the idea of "a special link (of this community) to its land." But these recommendations were not followed. Bruno Retailleau, then president of the LR group in the Senate, had denounced a form of "constitutionalization of communalism."

Autonomy not a new power

"Everything is not tied up, settled," argues Françoise Gatel. "The autonomy we propose is neither a discharge of difficulties, nor a transfer of responsibilities, nor a way for the State to disappear. The State will continue to fully exercise its royal duties: it will remain the guarantor of security, public order, equality of rights, and respect for republican principles."

Financing concerns raised

Among elected officials, many questions also concern the financing of this autonomy, given the economic situation of Corsica, one of the poorest regions of Metropolitan France along with the Hauts-de-France. The LR senator of Corsica-du-Sud, Jean-Jacques Panunzi, a fervent opponent of this autonomy, demands transparency on "the revenues of Corsica."

Future organic law to define autonomy

Françoise Gatel has committed to providing the documents he requests. "Naturally there will be appropriate financing conditions, but there will not be a disappearance of State support, since Corsica does not become independent," wants to reassure the minister. On many points, however, she refers to the future organic law, which must be built, she assures, in collaboration with local officials.

Overseas territories question inequality

Several overseas elected officials also intervened during this hearing to denounce an inequality of treatment, wondering why Corsica would benefit from a special treatment in the Constitution, while overseas communities and territories are mentioned in articles 73 and 74 of the organic text.

Concerns over coherence

"What coherence does the government intend to give to this new territorial differentiation compared to that of the overseas territories?" asked Thani Mohamed Soilihi, senator of Renaissance from Mayotte. Françoise Gatel's answer: "We have considered that there was no derogation from European law [the overseas territories have a status of 'ultra-peripheral region' in European law], this is the great difference, since Corsica is in the middle of a Mediterranean and European basin."

Calls for consistency

"I hear you say that the Republic is one and indivisible, but the Republic has gone very far in New Caledonia to buy peace, with the recognition of dual nationality," noted Lana Tetuanui, the senator of Polynesia, regarding another constitutional reform, now in deadlock. "We also look at all this from Polynesia. Come on! If you give them that, we will also ask for it. Let's go all the way!" she said.

Report on potential risks

In a report published in 2025, but rejected in committee in the face of opposition from centrists, macronists, and the left, the LR senator Lauriane Josende estimated that the constitutional reform risked "opening a Pandora's box."

Context of Corsican autonomy

On several occasions, Françoise Gatel insisted on recalling that the treatment reserved for Corsica was also linked to the political context on the island. "For Corsica the process was different. It was born from an unprecedented violence and a total impasse. At one point, the State and Corsican officials took their responsibilities to build something within the unity of the Republic."

Comparisons to other regions

To the centrist senator from the Orne, Olivier Bitz, who was surprised that the executive was more meticulous with the bill creating the Alsace region - the parliamentary shuttle having been suspended during an inspection and evaluation mission - the LR senator Francis Spinez replied: "Excuse me, I'm going to break the atmosphere a bit, but in Alsace you don't plasticize the gendarmeries and you don't kill the prefects."